Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G13/00—Roller-ways
  • B65G13/075—Braking means
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G13/00—Roller-ways
  • B65G13/02—Roller-ways having driven rollers
  • B65G13/06—Roller driving means
  • B65G13/07—Roller driving means having endless driving elements
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
  • F16D59/00—Self-acting brakes, e.g. coming into operation at a predetermined speed
  • F16D59/02—Self-acting brakes, e.g. coming into operation at a predetermined speed spring-loaded and adapted to be released by mechanical, fluid, or electromagnetic means
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
  • F16D63/00—Brakes not otherwise provided for; Brakes combining more than one of the types of groups F16D49/00 - F16D61/00
  • F16D63/002—Brakes with direct electrical or electro-magnetic actuation
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
  • B65G1/00—Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
  • B65G1/02—Storage devices
  • B65G1/04—Storage devices mechanical
  • B65G1/06—Storage devices mechanical with means for presenting articles for removal at predetermined position or level
  • B65G1/08—Storage devices mechanical with means for presenting articles for removal at predetermined position or level the articles being fed by gravity
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16D—COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES
  • F16D2121/00—Type of actuator operation force
  • F16D2121/18—Electric or magnetic
  • F16D2121/20—Electric or magnetic using electromagnets

Definitions

• the invention refers to a brake roller, a roller conveyor and a method of installation of a roller conveyor.
• EP 2 922 775 B1 discloses a brake roller.
• a roller tube is rotatably supported about an axis in a stationary bearing.
• An eddy current brake with a tubular eddy current receiver is located within the roller tube and fixedly connected thereto.
• a magnet is stationarily connected with the bearing.
• AT 516925 A1 shows a combined motorized and brake roller.
• the brake roller is operated by method comprising the steps: providing a command to start up the conveying roller, applying, on the basis of said command, electric voltage to the drive motor, and fully releasing or raising the brake only after a time delay. The releasing of the brake is thereby directly linked to the command for actuating
• This method requires a control interface linking the brake roller to a control that controls operation of the motor roller.
• DE 197 31 310 A1 discloses a gravity roller conveyor with brake rollers for conveyed goods. Conveyed goods are entered in a respective section of the gravity roller conveyor and are braked by the brake rollers.
• the roller conveyor has a timer which has the task of releasing the brake after a certain preset time.
• US 2014/0291118 A1 discloses a brake unit for an accumulating conveyor for braking at least one roller which is provided for transporting a unit load on a roller path of the accumulating conveyor by means of an endless traction mechanism.
• the brake unit is driven continuously during operation via an endless drive traction mechanism on a driving roll er and is configured, in an engaged operating state, for transmitting the rotational movement of the driving roller about an axis to a driven roller and, in a braking operating state, for slowing down the driven roller on a housing of the brake unit.
• the driven roller being connected to the roller via the endless traction mechanism.
• the invention provides an easy possibility to hold the objects on a roller conveyor at the current position in case of a loss of a main power supply voltage.
• the invention can universally be applied to any roller conveyors of any manufacturer and do not need any specific interfaces to a conveyor control.
• the brake roller is designed separately from a motor roller. Since the brake is actively held in an the freewheel state it generates waste heat, the waste heat does not accumulate within the already warm motor roller.
• a particular advantage of the inventive roller conveyor is that no control interface is required for exchanging information between the motorized roller and the brake roller.
• the brake roller can easily be connected to the main power supply and is immediately ready for operation.
• a time delay can be provided. The time delay is preset with the delayer and there is also no connection required fron the brake roller to the motor roller or any motor controlling units.
• FIG. 3 a functional diagram of the roller conveyor according to figure 1 ; fig. 4 the brake roller of the roller conveyor according to figure 1 in a schematic cross- sectional view; fig. 5 a diagram showing the relation between the main power supply voltage and the brake power voltage; fig. 6 a diagram showing the relation between the main power supply voltage and the brake power voltage in the state when main power supply voltage is available again.
• FIG. 1 shows an inventive roller conveyor 1.
• the roller conveyor 1 comprises a plurality of rollers 2,3,4, which are parallel arranged in a manner to provide a conveying tracking along a conveying direction D.
• the conveying rollers are mounted on a supporting frame 10.
• the rollers 2, 3, 4 are arranged in a manner so as to provide an inclined conveying direction D. That means that the conveying direction D is an uphill and/or a downhill direction in relation to the horizontal plane.
• Each drive segment 11 comprises a plurality of rollers 2, 3, 4, which are connected to each other via a drive connection 21 (figure 2), so that the rotational movement of all rollers of one segment are coupled to each other.
• the drive connection may comprise one of more Poly-V-belts.
• the drive connection may be subject to slippage.
• the segment 11 comprises a motor 2, a brake roller 4 and optionally one of more idler rollers 3.
• the motor is a motor roller 2, where in an alternative embodiment the motor is separate to any rollers.
• rollers comprise a roller tube 22, 42, which are rotatably supported on at least one axle element 23, 43 by means of a non-shown bearing. Same applies to the idler rollers which are not shown in figure 3.
• the motor roller 2 comprises a motor 24 for providing a drive force for the roller tube 22. Between the motor 24 and the roller tube 22 a coupler 25 is provided which provides a torqueproofconnection between a motor shaft of the motor 24 and the roller tube 22.
• the motor 24 is connected via a motor power line 27 to a main power supply 14.
• the main power supply 14 provides a main power supply voltage V1 which is essential for the operation of the motor.
• the function of the motor 24 is optionally controlled by a motor controller 26.
• the motor controller 26 may be located within the roller tube 22 (as shown in figure 3) or externally.
• the motor controller 26 may be connected by a motor control line 28 and/or optionally by external control line 12 to a conveyor controller 13.
• the motor roller 2 In case of a loss of the main power supply voltage V1 in the main power supply 14, the motor roller 2 is not provided with electric energy. Any objects 9 located on the inclined drive track are exposed to the arbitrariness of gravity. Depending on the height difference and the mass of the objects 9, the objects 9 can be damaged when the objects 9 meet each other at the lower parts of the inclined track.
• the loss of main power supply voltage may happen intentionally by pressing an emergency stop button 15 or unintentionally due to a power failure in the public power network or a by triggering a fuse.
• Said loss of main power supply voltage comprises also a reduction of the main power supply voltage below a certain threshold value.
• the main power supply merely provides a voltage of 5V instead of the regular 48V, which is also considered a s a loss of main power supply voltage, since the motor rollers cannot be operated properly anymore so that said risk of damage to the objects in given as described above.
• each segment 11 is provided with said brake roller 4.
• the brake roller 4 is in a free wheel state. In the free wheel state the brake roller 4 is operating similar to an idler roller 3 and does not provide a brake force (regular friction is not considered as brake force).
• the brake roller 4 is adapted to be automatically and immediately transferred into a brake state in case that the main power supply voltage V1 is not present anymore to provide the motor rollers 2 with sufficient power (loss of main power supply voltage).
• the brake roller 4 has a brake 44 (figure 3) which can selectively provide a brake force to the roller tube 42.
• the brake 44 On the one side the brake 44 is fixedly connected to one of the non-rotating axle elements 43, on the other side the brake 44 is connected to the roller tube 42 in particular via a coupling 45.
• An exemplary coupling 45 is disclosed in WO 2018/109165 A1.
• the brake 44 is connected to the main power supply 14 by means of a brake power line 47.
• Figure 4 shows the brake 44 in more detail.
• the brake 44 has a first brake element 441 located fixed within the roller tube 42 and a second brake element 442 fixedly connected to the roller tube 42.
• the first and the second brake elements 441 , 442 can be selectively brought into engagement with each other, e.g. by frictional or positive engagement.
• the brake is in particular a holding brake which should - in the brake state - provide a brake force also in case of no rotation. Consequently an inductive brake (e.g. disclosed in EP 2 922 775 B1), where the brake force is merely based on a relative movement of magnetic components within the brake roller is of minor suitability for the present function.
• a brake spring 444 or any other power storage urges the first and the second brake elements 441 , 442 with a second force F2 against each other.
• a brake actuator 443 provides a first force F1 counteracting the second force F2, keeping the brake in the free wheel state (figure 4a).
• the brake actuator 443 requires the energy supply by the main power supply voltage V1. In case of loss of the main power supply voltage V1 , the first force F1 is omitted, resulting automatically in the transfer of the brake roller into the brake state (figure 4b).
• the brake actuator 443 can immediately provide the first force F1 , so that the brake roller 4 is transferred into the free wheel state. No further problem arises if the motor roller 2 is as well operating immediately properly after the main power supply voltage V1 is made available again. In this embodiment the operating state of the brake roller 4 and of the motor roller 2 are fully synchronous with the availability I non-availability of the main power supply voltage V1.
• the motor roller 2 has in particular a more complex roller functionality, which is described with reference to figure 5. As soon as the main power supply voltage V1 gets lost at time t1 , a drive power P of the motor is not available anymore. Without the brake roller 4, now the objects 9 would roll down the hill along the inclined conveyor track and may be subject to damage.
• the main supply power voltage V1 is made available again.
• the motor roller 4 requires a particular initialization period, from the point in time at which the main power supply voltage V1 is available. So there remains a certain motor delay time dt2, until the motor 24 is actually again providing drive power P to the motor roller 2. This comprises also the possibility that the motor keeps the roller tube stationary without rotation (zero motion hold).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Rollers For Roller Conveyors For Transfer (AREA)
• Braking Arrangements (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=85771947

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 2023
  • 2023-03-15 EP EP23713055.4A patent/EP4493492A1/de active Pending
  • 2023-03-15 WO PCT/EP2023/056590 patent/WO2023174997A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2023-03-15 DE DE202023003009.9U patent/DE202023003009U1/de active Active

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